Only a miracle can prevent Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel from winning the
drivers' championship, admits Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso believes only a miracle can prevent Sebastian Vettel from collecting the one win he needs to claim his fourth consecutive drivers’ world championship.

Vettel has been unstoppable since the summer break, winning four successive races to open up a 77-point gap on the Ferrari driver.

Alonso could do no better than sixth in a Korean Grand Prix won by Vettel for a third consecutive year, ahead of Team Lotus duo Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. Should the German take the chequered flag in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka - where he won his second title two years ago - and Alonso finish ninth or worse, the title race is over.

"Vettel is a very long way off in terms of points, and we cannot expect miracles between now and the end of the championship," said the Spaniard. "Second place in the constructors' championship is probably a more realistic target, but one thing is certain – we are not giving up now and we will give it our best shot right to the very end."

Only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher have won four straight drivers’ championships – Schumacher managed five in a row between 2000 and 2004 – but Vettel is refusing to get ahead of himself.

"I'm trying not to think about it to be honest," said the Red Bull driver. "I'm trying to focus more on the present. We obviously won the title two years ago in Japan, but there are still a lot of points to get.

"Even though it looks very good for us, there is still a chance for Fernando, so we have to stay on top of our game. Right now we're just having a good time, I'm just loving what I do, and we enjoy the fact the team is working very well."

That said, wrapping up the title at Suzuka would be a fitting finale for Vettel’s title charge in his eyes.

"It's the best track in the world, to be honest," said Vettel. "The fans are crazy - completely crazy - in a positive way. We get massive support there, they are big fans of motor sport, passionate about Formula One. They enjoy the whole weekend. So I'm really looking forward to Japan, one of the highlights of the season."